This Tax-Filing Dating Sim Was Removed From the Steam Store
Published March 22 2023, 7:16 p.m. ET
It's tax season yet again, meaning that it's time to painstakingly calculate just how much you owe the state and federal government in taxes (or how much they owe you).
But instead of spending your Tax Day on TurboTax or some other accounting program, some are looking to a new video game to help them file their taxes.
Tax Heaven 3000 is a free-to-play game that is part dating simulator and part tax filing service. According to the game's Steam store page, this visual novel takes you through various romance options while helping you find any deductibles for your federal tax return. By the conclusion of the game, you'll have your federal return ready to file — and you'll be able to unlock one of the multiple romantic endings
This game comes from MSCHF Product Studio Inc, a company that has produced sneakers, browser plugins, AI art, and even video games. Its previous game release is Chair Simulator, in which you buy and sit in various chairs to earn "Sit Points."
The company behind Tax Heaven 3000 aims to help those in the U.S. file their taxes for free, and while it quickly gained attention online, it's since been removed from the Steam store. What happened to Tax Heaven 3000?
Why was 'Tax Heaven 3000' removed from the Steam store? What happened.
Unfortunately, though the game quickly made a splash online, it seems it has been removed from the Steam store. The listing is no longer available, and the title is not listed on the developer's page.
It's been theorized that the title was taken down for security reasons. Since Tax Heaven 3000 promised to prepare your federal tax return for you, players would be required to input their social security numbers.
"Lol, looks like Tax Heaven 3000 got removed from Steam for the time being because Steam thinks it's a scam lol," one Twitter user wrote, attaching a screenshot with a comment from the developer.
"STEAM IS DEPLATFORMING TH3K. DIRECT DOWNLOAD VIA TAXHEAVEN3000.COM ON APRIL 4," the message reads. "Maybe TurboTax sent a check, we don't know."
Though you won't be able to download the title from Steam, if you're determined to file your taxes while romancing anime characters, then you can apparently download the game when it releases on April 4 directly from the developer. That being said, while filing your taxes while playing a game sounds like a fun time, be careful before giving your anime love interest your social security number.
